The New Planet
by CeraJade
Summary: What is the Avatar world wasn't the only out there?
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my first time at a crossover fanfic. I like to think of myself as a well rounded geek...and every well rounded geek likes Star Wars. I recently went to the new Star Wars cartoon, just to see what the fuss was about, and even though it wasn't all that...it sure kicked me back into Star Wars mood. But I can't leave Avatar behind. So, in my warped mind, I decided to try this. Hopefully there's someone out there that'll like it as well.

* * *

Obi-wan woke with a start. He had been in a deeper sleep than he wanted to be, but the last skirmish on some remote moon had left him extremely tired. He focused quickly and concentrated on what woke him. Groggly, he heard…music.

Obi-wan stood up and stretched. He checked the time piece on the wall of his stateroom. They had been in lightspeed for about a Coruscant day. He opened his door and walked out. The music was suddenly louder, and he heard singing. It was coming from the mess hall. As Obi-wan walked towards it, a smell of cooking food accompanied the music and his stomach grumbled. Before getting closer, he clocked himself with the Force so Anakin wouldn't feel him, then peeked around the corner.

Anakin was slowly stirring a big pot on a stove while his Padawan, Ahsoka, was cutting a mix of vegetables and meats. Music was coming from a small set of speakers on the table behind them. The current song ended and a new one started. Ahsoka sang:

_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world._

_She took the midnight train going an-ny where!_

Ahsoka stopped and Anakin continued:

_Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit._

_He took the midnight train going an-ny where!_

They both faced each other and belted out in unison:

_A singer in a smokey room,_

_The smell of wine and cheap perfume!_

_For a smile they can share the night,_

_It goes on and on and on and on!_

Obi-wan couldn't hold back anymore. He started to laugh. Anakin didn't react but Ahsoka squeeked and dropped her knife.

"Master Obi-wan, we didn't know you were up!" she said.

Anakin smiled at Obi-wan and went back to the pot. "He likes to think he's sneaky like that. I knew you were there, Master."

Obi-wan shrugged. "Yet you still gave me a show. Thank you." He walked over to the pot. "And why are you cooking? Are we out of supplement pills?"

Ahsoka plopped potato like things into the pot. "No, we have plenty. I was bored."

Obi-wan frowned and glanced at Anakin. "Usually a Master instructs his Padawan the art of meditation and quiet watchfulness while bored and waiting."

"He did that already," Ahsoka said. "So now I'm teaching him the art of stew. I used to hang out in the kitchen at the Temple. I love to cook. Food is just wonderful."

Obi-wan looked at Anakin again but Anakin just smiled and shook his head. "Hey, at least this way we'll have fresh food for a few days."

Obi-wan was about to protest but decided better of it. He too was hungry for real food, and a few hours of fun couldn't hurt the girl. He rolled up his sleeves and Ahsoka put him to work on making fat dumplings. In a short half hour, the stew was ready. The three sat down to eat in the huge mess hall. The ship they were on was supposed to hold many more than the three, but they were the only three going back to Coruscant, and this was the only free ship.

After eating a hearty and well deserved meal, Ahsoka and Obi-wan cleaned up while Anakin went to check on the ships auto-pilot. Ahsoka turned on her music again.

_Bartender I really did it this time,_

_Broke my parole to have a good time…_

Obi-wan listened to her sing.

_...I'm at a bar on the inside, waiting for my ride on the outside._

_She broke my heart in a trailer park._

_So I jacked the keys to her fucking car_

_Crashed that piece of shit and stepped away…_

Obi-wan wiped his hands and shut it off. Ahsoka turned.

"Hey!"

"Did you just swear?" He demanded.

She looked confused. "What? I mean, yes, Master…but it's in the song. It's just music…"

"Jedi should always watch the way they present themselves. Swearing, even just in a song, is not permitted."

Ahsoka bowed her head in obedience. "Yes, Master."

Obi-wan got that feeling he gets when he knows he was the party killer. He groaned inwardly. That happened to him a lot.

"Besides, you have such a pretty voice." He wasn't lying there. She did have a nice voice. "Isn't there something you like to sing that you can show off with?"

Ahsoka thought for a moment, then turned on a new song. It was a slow, sad folk tune of a solder from a long ago war. Obi-wan had heard it before, but he had an eerie feeling that as Ahsoka sang the song, millions across the Galaxy were singing along.

_…There is nothing here but war, where the murdering cannons roar. _

_And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin._

_General Meagher to us he said, if you get shot or lose your head,_

_Every mother's son of youse will get a pension._

_Well in the war I lost me leg, and all I've now's a wooden peg._

_By my soul it is the truth to you I mention…_

As she finished, Anakin walked back in the room.

"Wow, Obi-Wan…I always knew you were a mood killer. But, geeze.. I'm gone for ten minutes and already you have the girl lamenting…"

Ahsoka burst out in laughter as Obi-Wan frowned again. "Well, the trash you let her sing wasn't suiting her. Jedi usually don't cultivate talents of the arts, but her voice could do wonders. The medics at the Temple are researching the use of music to heal. If she could learn to sing properly…"

Anakin laughed. "Because you, the King of Tone Deafness, would know of proper singing."

Ahsoka was sent into another fit of laughter as she watched the two old friends bicker. Obi-Wan was about to retort when the ship suddenly bucked to the side and sirens blared. All thoughts of singing were forgotten as the three ran to the cockpit.

"What was that?" Ahsoka asked. She strapped herself in and turned to the nav-computer. Obi-Wan was checking the source of the sirens as Anakin took the ship off auto-pilot.

"Something is wrong, but the computer is showing nothing…" Obi-Wan mumbled. Anakin groaned.

"Bucket of bolts…" he breathed. The ship was very, very old. Another siren went off.

"We're losing oxygen now," Obi-Wan said quietly. The three looked at each other. Anakin took a deep breath.

"Ok. I think I know what happened. But we need to land for me to fix it. Coming out of light speed…"

The stars sprung back into formation. Ahsoka checked the star maps.

"We're at least half a day away from anything on this chart…" They had taken a short cut through a sparsely populated part of space to cut time.

Anakin frowned. "Really? Then what's that to the right?"

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka looked to were Anakin was pointing. Sure enough, their space trained eyes could pick out a planet amongst the stars. Ahsoka looked on the chart again.

"Well, it's not on the chart. But it's close. I vote we go."

Anakin looked to Obi-Wan, who nodded in agreement.

"Ok. Setting course for Mystery Planet."

* * *

"WATER-BENDING BALL!!" Katara screeched. She came flying down the cliff with a larger than life splash. Mai, Ty Lee, and Toph laughed as they got soaked. Aang shouted down behind her.

"Mine will be bigger!!" He splashed down too, soaking the girls again.

"AAHHH-EEEE!!" Sokka yelled as he swung in on a vine and dove into the lake, Zuko close behind. It had been half a year since the war ended. Things between the nations were unstable, but peaceful. The kids were taking a well deserved vacation. They had not all been in the same place together for over a month.

Mai, Ty Lee, and Toph, who were sunning themselves in the setting sun, were talking about the recent developments of the new idea to have a sporting even every four years between the nations in honor of peace.

"I think it's a good idea," Ty Lee was saying. "The problem is to consider what is a sport and what isn't. And how to make rules that prevent bending."

Suki walked from where she was getting the girls all drinks and sat down.

"Maybe there can be two categories: sports for the non-benders, and martial arts for the benders."

Mai shook her head. "But what about us that use martial arts and don't bend?"

The others in the water came out and dried off. The sun was nearly gone as Zuko started a fire. They started to casually converse in small groups. Sokka and Suki were snuggled on the sand; Toph, Ty Lee, and Mai were making fun of Aang's smaller water splashes than Katara's. Zuko was taking everything in happily when he noticed Katara set off for the forest surrounding the lake. He stood up and walked to her.

"Want company?"

She shrugged. "Ok." He was surprised at her lack luster answer. She had been having fun all day, but this brooding version of Katara quickly brought him back to the old days just a year ago.

They walked for a few moments when he asked, "What's wrong?"

She shrugged again. "I'm just tired. It's been a very exhausting last few months."

Zuko understood her. He was hanging on to his kingdom by his bare fingernails. While many wanted the war to end, many more still clung onto the old idea that Zuko was a traitor, and that if anyone new needs to take the throne, it should be Iroh. Iroh fully threw his support behind Zuko, but there were still a few elite families that did not like change. They had built themselves up on the war, and they feared their status would drop now that Fire Nation Colonial Governors were not needed.

They walked in silence some until they came to a grassy opening. Katara laid on the grass and looked up to the stars in the new night sky. Zuko walked in a slow circle looking up as well.

Katara sighed and spoke again, "And I think Aang is a little uneasy. Sure, he's a full Avatar now…but I think keeping a peaceful world will be harder on him then trying to get one."

Zuko nodded, still looking up. He knew this too, Aang had wrote to him a few times about it. The two teenagers stayed in silence, contemplating life.

"Do you ever wonder what is up there?" Zuko asked in a rare burst of theological feeling.

"Sometimes."

"What do you think it is?"

"My mother once told me our passed loved ones watch us from there. What do you think?"

Zuko was about to answer when the forest was shook with a sudden sonic boom. Katara screamed and stood up. Zuko stopped moving and looked around for the source. They heard a roar behind them. Turning to see, what looked like a huge meteor was heading towards them. Zuko and Katara ran. When they got back to the lake, the others were looking too.

"Another space rock?" Toph asked hopefully. She knew how much Sokka wanted a new space sword. Sokka shook his head even though she couldn't see him.

"No…this is new…" he said unsurely.

The kids watched as the not-space-rock free-fell from the sky. Then, it did something odd…it seemed to move in a decided direction.

"It's…it's _landing_," Ty Lee said in awe. Indeed, gravity clearly did not have control over the thing anymore. It vanished in the trees, and the night became quiet again, hiding it's secret of the phenomenon that the kids witnessed.

Now able to "see" what the others were talking about, Toph gasped.

"That's no rock! It's _metal_. Pure metal!"

Sokka, Aang, and Zuko looked at each other, then took off towards the thing. The girls followed.

They came upon a hill that they could peer over. What they saw astonished them. Sure, the kids were used to seeing metal contraptions built by the Fire Nation and the Mechanist, but this was nothing they had ever seen.

"What is it?" Mai whispered.

Zuko shrugged. "It's not Fire Nation. I know it's not. We have nothing that does…_space travel_." He spoke the last words as though he were uttering a sacred thing.

Suki chimed in, "Is it spirit world?"

Aang shook his head. "Spirits can't do that. They don't bend metal. No, it's real. It's defiantly real."

As they silently watched, a side opened up to reveal three beings walking out- two human males, one a young adult and one clearly in his middle years- and another being that looked human, but her skin was a different color and she clearly did not have hair.

"Maybe it's a hat," Ty Lee whispered.

The mystery people looked around for a moment, and then started to talk.

"How is it this planet is not charted? It may be in a rural area...but it's still well in the Republic." The non-human asked. The younger man was using some sort of metal beeping thing that he connected to the big metal transport. He sighed.

"Something in the oxygen tanks blew. It's defiantly fixable, but I'll need a day, and some more metal pieces…and welding tools…oh, stars, just find me a droid."

The older man remained silent, as though he were deeply listening to something. Aang felt something come over him. It was as though the spirits were whispering to him. He shook his head to get the noise out of his ears. Zuko, Katara, and Toph were doing the same.

"What are you doing?" Sokka hissed.

"I feel weird…" Toph said worriedly.

Zuko shuttered. "Me too…it's like, it's like…"

"The Spirits are speaking to us," Aang concluded. Suddenly, the older man turned and looked to where they were hiding. The kids ducked down.

"He saw us!" Ty Lee barely made a sound as she said that, terrified.

The older man spoke loudly. "I saw you there."

Aang gulped. As the others shook their heads at him, he stood and looked at the man.

"I am Avatar Aang. Who are you?"

The man answered. "I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and his Padawan, Ahsoka."

Aang cocked his head to the side and frowned. "What's a Jedi? Are you a new Spirit I haven't met?"

The man named Anakin stepped forward. Unnerved by the new feeling and wary of the strangers, Toph popped up.

"Don't take a step closer! We have you out numbered eight to three!" Anakin stopped moving. He didn't show any emotion on his face, but Toph, Aang, Zuko, and Katara all felt his mood change from calm to alertness. The others took Toph's speech as a cue to stand. Obi-Wan looked around.

"We mean you no harm. Our ship had a malfunction. It is quiet old, as you can see. There were no air controls, so we landed without clearance. We hope this is ok."

The kids just stared at the three aliens. Sokka asked again. "What are you?"

The not-human spoke up. "Master Obi-Wan already said, we are Jedi. What planet is this?"

The kids looked at each other in shock. Zuko tried to swallow and asked dryly, "Did you ask what…what _planet_ is this?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes. Planet. You know, in opposed to stars and moons?"

Anakin was beginning to feel more nervous. He was getting a strange feeling from four of the kids- the bald one, the brown girl, the little girl, and the bigger boy.

Katara gave a nervous laugh. "Uh…I guess the name of the planet is Earth."

* * *

"What do you mean you _guess_?" Anakin asked. He did not like this at all. Obi-Wan was reaching out to him with the Force, but before Anakin could read it, the smallest girl shouted out, "Don't do that!"

For the first time in a long time, Anakin saw Obi-Wan look startled. "Do what?"

"That…that thing you do. You're moving the Spirits or something. We…well, Katara, Aang, Zuko, and me…we can feel that. And we don't like it."

Obi-Wan's feelings were confirmed. The reason this planet was uncharted was because no one knew it was here. In fact, he suspected that the planet was never even discovered. This is big, he thought. Very, very big.

"Ok, I think we are all confused…"

"Think so?" Toph shouted sarcastically.

Obi-Wan frowned. "…and maybe we should all sit down and figure out what is happening."

"We don't negotiate with aliens!" Zuko shouted out firmly.

Ahsoka growled. "Hey! That's a horrible term to accuse someone of! I'm not 'alien', I'm Torguta!"

"There's nothing like that here!" Katara joined in the yelling contest. She felt Aang tense next to her, trying to tell her to calm down, but she was scared…ever so much more scared than she had been during the war.

"Please!" Obi-Wan shouted out. "Please, let's just calmly sit down and…"

"LEAVE!" Zuko shouted as he let go a huge blast of fire. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka took cover.

"Son, put down the flame thrower! We don't want a fight!" Obi-Wan shouted out.

"I have no idea what that is!" Zuko yelled.

"Master," Ahsoka whispered. "He didn't use a flame thrower."

"Well, what did he use then?"

"His…his feet and hands. And I don't see any tanks wired to him. It just…it came from thin air."

While the Jedi conversed, Aang was calming Zuko.

"Attacking them won't help. Maybe we should talk. I'm scared too, but these aliens…people…they have spirit. Or something. I don't know, but I know you three feel it too."

"I agree with Aang," Mai said. "Who knows what they could have hidden if we make them mad. And besides…this is probably a dream." Ty Lee pinched her.

"Ow! Ok…maybe not. But still…"

Aang shouted to the Jedi, "We agree to sit down and talk."

The Jedi came out of hiding and waited for the kids to come down from the rocks. They were all dressed in different sorts of attire. Two, who looked to be brother and sister, were wearing blue. They had the same caramel skin, dark hair, and deep blue eyes. The girl had her hair long with a sort of crown woven into it, and the boy had a top knot. Both wore soft shoes of animal skin.

Two were dressed in green, the small girl and the other with short hair. The small girl looked almost tomboyish, was barefoot, and her hair hung in her eyes. Anakin wondered how she could see with all that hair there, but then he realized she was blind. She moved well for a blind person. The other girl was slender but had the stance of a warrior. Her slight frame could not be underestimated.

The oldest boy and the girl with buns were both in red, crowns in both their hair. The last girl standing next to them was in pink, and was very dainty. Her eyes were narrowed in mistrust, however, and looked out of place in her outstandly beautiful face.

The last boy, the one announced as Avatar Aang, was in orange. He was bald with an arrow tattoo on his head and had a medallion hanging from his neck.

The kids criticized the 'aliens' clothing too. The two men were dressed almost alike- high boots, loose fitting clothes, with belts at their wastes to hold their tunics. The only difference was the younger man had more leather on. The girl had high boots and a belt as well, but her orange skin was very much visible with just a piece of cloth wrapped around her chest. The tattoo's on her face didn't draw as much attention as her tentacles on her head did. She felt their stares and flushed.

Aang cleared his throat. "Well then…tea?"


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! So...no one criticize me for huge breaks in between chapters...I'm graduating college give me a break. Anyways, this one should be nice and long for ya'll!

* * *

Ty Lee, Katara, and Suki ran back to camp to get the tea and cups. While gone, the boys started gathering wood for a fire. The Jedi stood back and watched. When there was a nice pile, the oldest boy, Zuko, flicked his wrist and fire shot into the pit. Ahsoka gasped and reflectively grabbed Anakin's hand. He held it tight for he was slightly unnerved too. Zuko registered the reaction but didn't say anything.

After that, Toph counted in her head how many people, and then earth bended up eleven stone chairs. This really sent the Jedi for a trip. Ahsoka tried to hid her uncertainty. This was not the way Jedi were supposed to act, or feel, upon new encounters, but everything here was so different…_too_ different…that her mind couldn't take it all in.

Obi-Wan and Anakin had jumped at the sight of the earth bending. Sure, they had moved rocks before with the Force…but never to create something like that. The older girls came back with the tea and the one in red with the crown, Mai, started to make it. Still, the two groups stood looking at each other in silence. When Mai announced it was warm, the others sat while she took it upon her duty to serve it.

When all were settled and served, Obi-Wan spoke.

"Well, we seem to have a problem. You know nothing of us, and we know nothing of you."

He had spoken to the oldest boy with the crown, Zuko, assuming he was the leader, but the youngest boy, Aang, answered.

"Well…you know more than we do. You came from the sky…from space. How did you get there?"

Obi-Wan considered the boy. "Have you ever heard of the Intergalactic Republic?"

All eight kids shook their heads. Obi-Wan nodded. "Ok…how about I give you a crash course on us. Stop me if you've heard the story before…" He was certain they hadn't.

Obi-Wan gave a brief story on how the Republic, Jedi Order, and Courescant were formed, and then another story on the war and why they were in their sector. None of the kids interrupted him, mouths agape and eyes wide with amazement. When he finished, Obi-Wan felt for the first time what it must be like to be labeled a freak.

Aang was the first to speak. "If I had not just witnessed you come from the sky, I would tell you that you have a wild imagination. This…Force…that you Jedi have…what do you do with it?"

Anakin let Obi-Wan continue and explain what the Force was. He was a much better story telling than Anakin was, and Anakin was a much better people person than Obi-Wan was. He studied the kids as Obi-Wan spoke. Obi-Wan demonstrated some moves with the Force. Ahsoka threw a rock at him to demonstrate that he could use it to predict things. Toph laughed under her breath at that.

"That's nothing new," she interrupted. "Me and Twinkletoes," she pointed to Aang, "can do that too, but we don't need any fancy dancy _air_ to see it. We use our feet."

Obi-Wan frowned. "With the Force, Jedi are also able to use lightsabers. It's a type of sword."

"Can we see the sword?" Sokka asked. Obi-Wan took his hilt out and showed it to the kids.

"Uhm…where's the blade?" Sokka asked.

Obi-Wan pushed the button to activate the light crystal inside. With a swish, the blade was out, humming and glowing. The kids all leaned back in fright.

"Here," said Obi-Wan. "The blade is made of light, using a light crystal." Ahsoka threw a rock at Obi-Wan again, and he cleanly sliced threw it. The kids stared at the smoldering rock. Unconsciously, Zuko was thankful Azula wasn't here to see this. The lightsaber bothered him more than the fact that these strangers were from the stars. He had a vision of a crazed Azula holding a lightsaber in her hand, cackling while things burned around her. Zuko shook his head to clear it.

Obi-Wan detracted the blade and replaced the hilt to his hip. He looked at Anakin and Ahsoka to indicate they should say something. Anakin still didn't feel like talking, he was concentrating on the weird feeling he was feeling from four of the kids, so he let Ahsoka take over.

"I'm a Padawan learner…an apprentice. Anakin is my Master, and Obi-Wan was once his."

"How were you chosen to be a Jedi?" Ty Lee asked. "And where are your parents in all this?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "I never knew my parents. I was brought to the Temple when I was a baby. All Force-sensitive kids are." She stated this matter of factly. It never bothered her to talk about her non-existent parents. Next to her, however, Anakin was thinking of his experience, and his mother. Aang frowned as he studied Anakin.

"Enough about us," Anakin suddenly interrupted. He took on a tone of authority. "We've told you what every hutlett knows before it's first year is over. You are the ones who should be explaining yourselves. How can you stay hidden from the Republic for millennia?"

Startled at his tone, the kids all started talking about once.

"We've never _hid_ from anyone," Zuko said angrily.

"What's a hutlett?" asked Katara.

"Someone's a bit bossy…" challenged Toph.

Obi-Wan gave a look to Anakin and then raised his hand to silence the kids. "What Anakin meant was, this is a new situation for us as well. We'd like to hear your story."

The kids looked around at each other. Sokka nudged Aang to start talking. He took a breath, and started. Aang first told of the separate nations, with demonstrations from he, Katara, Zuko, and Toph. He then told about the death of Avatar Roku and Aang's own disappearance. From here, Sokka and Zuko tag teamed to fill in the 100 year gap, Zuko with the Fire Nation and Sokka with the rest of the world. Aang picked up again when Sokka got to the part of the iceberg, and told the events of the past year and a half, with Zuko and Mai adding Fire Nation information. When they finished, it was the Jedi's turn to look amazed.

Ahsoka was still impressed with the Fire bending. She asked Zuko, "So, you just flick your wrist and you can make _fire_? All the time?"

"Uhm…well, yeah. It's stronger during the day, because of the sun. And, supposedly, I can make lightning. I've never done that. My sister can though."

"I'd like to meet her, just so I can see it."

"No, you don't," the kids all said in unison. The Jedi were silent for a moment. Aang felt uncomfortable because he felt the Jedi Master's gazes on him. The younger one kept doing that weird thing with the spirits, like they were trying to get inside his body and read his mind. Eventually, he knew everyone was looking at him. He meet Anakin's gaze.

"What?" he challenged with an unnatural harshness in his voice. Katara placed a hand on his arm to calm him down.

"Stop doing that," he demanded.

"Stop what?" Anakin asked.

"Yeah, stop that." Zuko said too. "That thing whatever your doing to us. I'm sure Katara and Toph feel it too, and it's annoying. I don't know you can talk to the spirits when Aang is the only Avatar, but just stop it."

"Avatar Aang," Obi-Wan said softly. Startled at the use of his formal title, Aang acknowledged Obi-Wan.

"How did you defeat the Fire King…"

"Lord," Sokka interrupted. "Fire Lord Ozai."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, Fire Lord. You said he was very powerful, yet you didn't take his life. How did you get him to back down?"

Something inside Aang was telling him to not tell of his ability to spirit bend. He and Obi-Wan locked eyes until they heard a beeping noise. The kids looked around.

"What's that?" asked Toph.

Obi-Wan took his comlink from his belt. Their ship was sending a message saying the Temple was waiting for them on the long range communicator. The kids with sight stared at the blinking, beeping piece of metal in his hand. Obi-Wan smiled.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to take a call from the Temple." As he walked away, he heard Sokka ask, "Your Temple…on a different _planet_…is…_calling_ you?"

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know what planet you are on?" Mace Windu asked in his deep voice. Obi-Wan knew Mace wasn't mad, but to anyone else, he probably would have sounded furious.

"It's not in the charts. I'm sending you the coordinates, but it's not named. There's no evidence of it ever existing. In fact, this entire star system is barely charted."

On the other end, Mace, Yoda, and the sparse Jedi Council were studying the coordinates Obi-Wan had sent.

"Hmm…a new plant, you have discovered?" Yoda asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "Possibly, Master. We have made contact with the inhabitants, actually. They are human, but…" he trailed off, at a loss for words. This rare moment of uncertainty in Obi-Wan alerted Mace and Yoda. They exchanged looks.

"But?" Mace prompted. Obi-Wan took ten minutes to give a short version of the kids had told him.

"So you are saying they are Force sensitive, but it's not the Force?" Mace asked. He frowned. "That doesn't sound possible, Obi-Wan."

"Midichlorain count, you must get of the four." Yoda said. "Forget your mission to come back. Gather information, your new mission is. Return in two days."

Obi-Wan bowed his head. "Yes, Master." He was about to cut the connection when Mace said, "And Obi-Wan."

"Yes?"

"When you contact us back, use a coded frequency. We can't let the Separatists find out about this planet."

* * *

That night, the kids camped out next to the ship. They had planned on heading back to the nearby resort village, but intrigue, and fear, made them stay close to the Jedi. Sleeping on the ground didn't bother them, they were used to it anyways.

Aang was sitting up looking at the giant piece of metal. Through one portal, he saw light and the three Jedi moving around. They were finishing their evening meal. Toph walked over and sat next to him.

"That thing feels weirder than the drill."

"It _is_ weirder than the drill, Toph. It's not even from this planet."

Toph stretched her legs out in front of her. Aang looked at her dirty, wise feet.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Well, nothing they said was a lie, so they aren't trying to trick us or anything. But the younger guy…Anakin…he was creepy, man. I didn't like how he kept…prodding…you, me, Katara, and Zuko."

Aang nodded, even though Toph couldn't see him. "Yeah. It was like he knew we were benders even before we told him."

"And Ahsoka…she's not a human, is she? I couldn't place what she was."

"I don't think so. I guess I didn't really think about what she was. We should ask tomorrow."

The others were coming over to where Aang and Toph sat and were settling in for the night. Katara sat down next to Aang.

"What a weird day, huh?"

Aang smiled. "Yeah. But it's us, right? I mean, we've gone six months without anything happening. We were bound to attract aliens to us sometime."

The others laughed.

* * *

Even before he opened his eyes, Aang knew that the Jedi were up and out of the ship. Toph had stirred and kicked his leg gently to let him know. He sat up. The three were unpacking some equipment. Alarmed- partially because the equipment was alien looking and partially because they seemed to have had made a point of trying to be quiet about their movement- Aang shouted out, "Hey! What are you doing?"

Immediately the other kids got up. _Toph must have woken us all up_, Aang reflected. The Jedi turned to acknowledge the kids. Anakin's hand went to his belt and hovered near his lightsaber hilt for a moment. Aang saw this and Toph felt it at the same time.

"Stop!" they shouted together. The other kids took their fighting stances. They wouldn't have looked like much to the Jedi, except that when Zuko, Toph, and Katara took their stances, they suspended their element before them, and this looked very odd to the Jedi. A kid with fire before him, a kid with a giant rock, and a kid with water looked so, so different than anything ever seen. Anakin moved his hand closer to his belt. Before the Force could alert him, Katara froze her water, raised it up, and brought it down in spikes so that he was pinned in one spot and his hand was away from his belt.

Ahsoka drew her lightsaber. "What was that for?" she demanded. Anakin was trying to use the Force to break free of his ice prison, but Katara was concentrating hard on keeping it solid. Ahsoka used her lightsaber to melt it.

Because of the adrenalin rush she was getting, and because she couldn't place this new weapon in her unseeing mind, Toph earthbended two cages around Anakin and Ahsoka.

"Stop moving!" She demanded.

"Hey!" Anakin and Ahsoka said.

"Whoa…listen, this is a mis-…" before Obi-Wan could explain, Zuko shot a blast of fire at his feet.

"If you think you can come here and fill us full of lies just you can get to the Avatar, think again!"

Obi-Wan looked where the fire had landed before him and then looked at Zuko. He tried to take a step forward again. "Listen…"

Zuko yelled as he sent more fire towards the Jedi. Obi-Wan could barely detect where the fire was going. It bothered him that he couldn't connect to the Force. Zuko stopped shooting. Obi-Wan growled impatience. Now he could reach out to the Force, after the kid had stopped bending. He used it to flip over to Ahsoka and Anakin's prisons and in the same motion used his lightsaber to break the rock.

"Now," he said when they were free. "Listen!"

But Mai, Sokka, and Suki had raised their weapons, and Ty Lee was ready too. Katara seemed to pull more water out of thin air and Zuko had fire daggers in his hand. Toph had pulled up rock from the ground to form a suit of armor around her.

"We are prepared to fight you!" Zuko told the Jedi. "We don't know what your intentions are, but sneaking around isn't considered an _honorable_ thing around here…"

"We weren't sneaking!" Obi-Wan shouted back. All his training seemed to leave him as for one of the few times in his life he felt afraid. These kids could kill them, he decided. They were very powerful. "If you would just listen…we want to ask you more questions!"

"Then what's all the weird looking stuff for?" Sokka asked. "Alien-question-asking-machines? Cause you were doing just fine last night without them!"

At first Aang was certain the Jedi were going to harm them, but he noticed that they weren't in fighting stances. He was about to say something to the others when Katara said, "We've been protecting Aang for a year, now. Don't you think you can come in here and tell us some fantasy lie about an Intergalactic whatchamathing and think we'll let our guard down so you can get the Avatar!"

"We don't want Aang!" Obi-Wan was clearly frustrated now. He knew that the Jedi could leave unharmed, but turning around was not an option. It was of utmost importance they learn more about the planet, not only for information but to protect them from the Seperatists. Obi-Wan would do anything to stay on the planet, even if it meant fighting with kids.

Aang took in the next moment as though it were in slow motion. Obi-Wan was stepping forward to prove a point, but just as he did, Aang felt Mai move to throw her knives. Toph was moving too with a boulder, and Zuko was breathing in to fire bend.

"Enough!" Aang shouted. He called on the Avatar State to Air bend. The wind he sent out knocked everyone on their backs. The Jedi had been looking at Aang, and they had enough time to notice the split second glow of his eyes and tattoos.

"Hey! What was that for?" Toph asked.

"Maybe we should listen to them…" Aang suggested. He turned to the Jedi as they stood up. "But I'm watching you."

Obi-Wan dusted himself off and rubbed his elbow where it had hit the ground, tore threw his tunic, and scrapped. There was a little blood.

"As I was saying, we received orders from our Temple asking for more information. These devices are recorders. They can take images and sound, compact them, and then play them back."

This concept of playback was above the heads of the kids.

"Uh…what?" Zuko asked. Obi-Wan could tell it would take days just to get the kids up to speed on technology. He decided since time was a factor it was best to skip over the details.

"Trust us…it's defiantly an alien piece of junk. But it won't hurt you, we swear."

The kids looked to Toph. "He's not lying," she said. Satisfied, they continued to listen to Obi-Wan.

"The second thing we have is a small disk that will take some of your blood and measure something in it called midichlorian's."

"Mini-koran's? You're making that up…" Sokka scoffed. "Surely if we had mini-books in us we'd know."

Anakin didn't like Sokka. He was too sarcastic…too much like Ahsoka. He could only deal with one of her. "We don't know what koran's are. It's _midichlorian_. They are microscopic organizisms…like…germs…or something very small…that live inside all living organisms. A normal human has under 2500 per blood cell. A lightly force-sensitive person has about 5000, and Jedi are usually above that."

Again, this information was out of the kids league. They looked to Sokka and Zuko, who had walked over to Obi-Wan to inspect the equipment.

"What are you looking at us for? They're the ones telling the fairy-tales about mini creatures inside humans." Sokka asked.

"Sokka," reasoned Katara. "You're the Science Guy in our group…and Zuko, you could be the most educated because of your resources at the Fire Nation Royal Academy. Is what they're saying at all possible?"

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. "Honestly," Zuko said. "Our scientists only recently discovered what was inside blood cells about 50 years ago." He started to turn red with shame. "Before the war- so we've been told- the Earth Kingdom had actually come a long ways with medicine and research, in partnership with healers from the Northern Water Tribe." He looked down and finished quietly. "But we were taught in school that all the information had to be destroyed because it was wrong and inferior. I know the inferior part is a lie, and I'm assuming the wrong part is a lie too."

Mai walked over and took his hand as Suki said, "Hey, lets forget about that now. Remember, the war's over. What your ancestors did, you couldn't prevent."

The Jedi watched this exchange with interest. They had been briefed on the information of the war, but it was intriguing to see the children's emotional responses to the war. Obi-Wan could sense that with each child there was something deeper that they were showing on the surface. Anakin cleared his throat and continued.

"Well…just believe us. Moving on. As you've noticed," he nodded to Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Aang, " We are all feeling something here. When you bend, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and I can feel you taping into your…_spirits_ to do so. When we use the force, you feel movement. We want to see if your _spirits_ are actually midichlorian's."

Aang didn't like the challenge of the spirits. "What if your midichlorian's are spirits?"

"That's impossible," Anakin laughed. Obi-Wan frowned at him.

"Anakin," was all he said. Anakin straightened his face.

"Well…maybe. But the instruments we have measure midichlorian's. Can we use them on you? All we need is a drop of each of your blood."

The four benders looked at their unbending friends.

"Don't look at us for a decision," Mai said.

"Yeah, it's your blood," agreed Ty Lee.

The benders looked at each other.

From the Jedi's point of view, the kids weren't doing anything. They weren't using their _spirits _to talk to one another, and it took Obi-Wan a moment to realize that these kids had such a connection they hardly needed body language to understand each other. This was something he'd never seen any group of beings do before, on all his missions. _Remarkable._

Aang finally spoke. "We agree. But while you're testing us, I need to go into the Spirit World. I want to talk to Roku."

"Make one move towards him while he's there…" Katara threatened.

"We won't, we won't," said Obi-Wan. He didn't even bother to ask where the Spirit World was. _If it's important…we'll find out._ He and Anakin stepped forward each with two disks to take blood samples. Ahsoka started to record.

Zuko and Katara glared at Anakin, who returned the look while he pricked each of their fingers. Aang looked at the device curiously, but when it was Toph's turn she jumped at the surprise of the pin prick. Unlike the others, she couldn't see the small devices in the Jedi's hands, let alone feel them with her feet. She reached out to Aang mentally who used his earth bending to touch her back, reassuring her it was what he and the others felt.

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded. "I'm going to put these in our computer, it shouldn't take long." He walked over to the small computer they had set up earlier. Sokka, Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee were chatting with Ahsoka who was explaining to them how a recording worked. After he was sure his finger was fine and he wasn't poisoned, Zuko wandered over too to see the strange device. Anakin watched this while listening to Toph, Katara, and Aang's conversation.

"I'm going to ask Roku if the spirits know anything about this. It won't take me long."

"Ok. I don't like the idea of you being in the spirit world while they are around." Katara said worriedly as she watched the others laugh at their reflections in Ahsoka's recording device. Toph nudged her.

"I'm more worried about him," she nodded towards Anakin. She felt his mood change as he frowned. Agitated, and still scared of the new comers, she said to him, "Yes, I know you're standing there and I know you can hear me. I'm blind, not dumb."

"I didn't say anything," Anakin said. Toph turned her unseeing eyes to him and frowned too.

"I have a question, Space Man."

Anakin muffled a laugh at the name. "Ok."

She pointed at Ahsoka. "What is she? I can't place her. You and Obi-Wan…you're humans. But Ahsoka….she's different from a human."

"She's a Togruta. Like a human…but not."

Toph was about to question it more when Katara nudged her. "Not now," she turned the blind girl towards Aang. Anakin turned his attention too and gasped. "Ahsoka!"

When Ahsoka turned her viewfinder to the young Airbender, she was startled to see that his tattoo's were glowing like they had earlier when he airbended, but this time it was a steady glow as he sat in a meditative position.

Obi-Wan walked over. "What's happening?"

"He's in the spirit world," explained Katara. "He is talking to his past lives as well as the spirits around us. That's what the Avatar is, a bridge between our two worlds."

Anakin shook his head. "Weird."

* * *

Aang honestly didn't know what he was expecting to learn when he got to the Spirit World, but he was surprised to find the chaos upon his arrival. Usually the Spirit World was a peaceful place, calm with meditative spirits watching over their mortal wards. It was rare for him to see more than two spirits in one spot, since spirits were enormous in invisible proportions, they tended to be separate to have room for their universal wisdom.

But even before he opened his eyes, he knew things weren't right by the sound. It was loud as hundreds of spirits were gathered there, waiting for him to arrive. Some had big, booming voices like giants, others were soft whispers that echoed with generations of wisdom. Some were large, some small, some animals, others human or half-human, and even still he noticed a few that had no form and were represented by floating orbs of light or mist. He stood up and looked for familiar spirits.

Hei Bai was sitting with a couple other bear spirits who Aang assumed were spirits from other forests. He walked over.

"Hi Hei Bai!"

Hei Bai looked down Aang and jumped with surprise. Because of all the commotion, no one noticed that the Avatar had arrived. Hei Bai roared to alert the crowd, which lulled for a moment, then, like a sea, came down upon him like a giant wave. They were all talking at once, some in his own language, and some in words and sounds he didn't know. Aang was confused. He looked to Hei Bai again, and this time when the bear roared the crowd stayed silent.

"Where's Roku? Or…or Kyoshi?" He asked for Kyoshi too because he was used to her. The crowd parted, and Roku came forward.

"Hello, Aang."

Aang bowed. "Hello, Roku. I…um…I'm guessing by the crowd you already know what's going on in the real world…"

"Know? Of course we know!" huffed a disgruntled badger spirit. "We've been poked and prodded ever since they arrived! Why are they bothering us so much? What do they want?"

"So…so they _are_ connected to us. I was actually hoping you could tell me. They say they came from the stars, from a different planet…"

This sent another loud murmur through the crowd. Roku raised his hand, and it quieted.

"I know nothing of another planet, nor do your other three recent lives." He said calmly. "But that doesn't mean this isn't possible. The spirits belong to the universe, not just our world."

As Roku spoke, the crowd parted again. Wong Si Tong stepped forward. Aang's surprise at seeing the spirit here was quickly over come by his embarrassment of breaking the wise owl's rules in his library. He bowed.

"Wong Si Tong, it is an honor to see you again."

"I am reluctant to say the same for you, Avatar." The owl flapped his wings agitatedly. "But these circumstances require knowledge that only I and a few others hold."

Aang winced at the coldness the spirit gave him. He felt terrible that Wong Si Tong was still holding a grudge. Aang waited for the spirit to keep talking, but it was evident he had said his peace.

"Uhm…well, that's great! Knowledge would be handy right now." He looked to Roku for help. Roku spoke up.

"Wong Si Tong, you have never liked any of the Avatars. It is your personal arrogance that has prevented you from having relationships with anyone, and you bury your loneliness in books. Do not let millennia of grudges reflect upon your decision to help us now. Do you have information about these…aliens?"

Aang was relieved to hear that not all spirits got along with the Avatars. Wong Si Tong beat his wings again in anger at Roku's words, but gave in.

"Yes. Long ago, before the age of the Avatar, people and spirits lived closer together. You learned from the Lion Turtle how to spirit bend. The art of spirit bending is an ancestor not only to element martial arts on your world, but this use of the spirits on their world. It was only a matter of evolution. They are the same thing, just used in different measure."

"Are you all connected to them too, like you are to this world here?"

Wong Si Tong cocked his head and looked at Aang out of one eye. "No. Spirits, like mortals, are not static. We can change. Our world surrounds yours, protecting it from other spirits out there…they refer to them as the Light and Dark Side. Our world is vast, but if you were to travel to the edges, you would meet theirs. I and only a few others have been there.

"We are lucky. We dedicated power to one person to help keep the spirit world and mortal world at peace. With the power in one person, it is concentrated greatly and becomes very powerful, and placing it in a human means the power will constantly grow and contract as each Avatar is born and dies, making it so no one Avatar can grow the power constantly and endanger us all. The only danger was the cycle could be broken. They, however, chose to give the power to a chosen group, dispersing the power and not giving one person the chance to abuse it. This worked as well, but as their culture grew and the power was passed to more and more, the people eventually forgot where it came from. Slowly, the good spirits who gave the power as a gift retreated from the light and are huddled at the edge of our world. The only remnants left are thoughts.

"With no policing force over the power, it took only a few thousand years before divisions grew. Those with the power used it for war for personal gain. The good were able to over come, but as of late there is a ripple in the universe. The remnants of the good spirits have placed all they have left into one being, hoping he will balance out the problem they created."

Aang found him self leaning forward with fascination. When Wong Si Tong was done, he looked at Roku, who wasn't fascinated like Aang but was angry.

"You know all this, and you kept it from the Avatar? When did you learn about the ripple?"

Wong Si Tong ruffled his feathers. "Before the last airbending Avatar." A murmur through the crowd again.

"Why hide it?" shouted one spirit?

"You could have endangered our world!" cried another.

Wong Si Tong brought himself to his full height. From his commanding stance, he shouted, "Because it was beyond my control. By the time I had learned of what the remnants had done, it was too late. The motions were set. Alerting everyone would have caused panic and chaos." He looked to Aang and Roku.

"And there was a ripple in our world. The course had been set for the 100 years war. This knowledge of other beings using spirit power without the use of spirits would have only made the battle worse. General Iroh found his way to the spirit world, what if others had done the same? I kept the information to protect us."

Aang raised his voice above the noisy crowd. "I agree with Wong Si Tong's decision. It was bad enough I disappeared. If Sozin had known how to contact these people, our world would have been destroyed."

He turned to Roku. "I think I've learned enough, I need to get back." He paused. "I think they want to take us somewhere."

Wong Si Tong spoke. "Learn all you can about them, but be wary. Keep our world secret." Roku bowed his head in agreement. Aang bowed back, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Obi-Wan motioned to Anakin and Ahsoka. He had finished the reports, and what he found astonished him. He was brought back to what seemed a long ago time on a desert planet where the results from a midichlorian test changed his life.

Anakin and Ahsoka had been recording Aang and the others, watching as Toph, Zuko, and Katara demonstrated their martial skills. Katara even used her healing powers on a cut Ahsoka had received a few days earlier. The two Jedi joined Obi-Wan by the ship.

"Well?" asked Anakin.

"It's…it's amazing. Do you remember your count?"

"Twenty-thousand," he replied.

"Really?" asked Ahsoka. "Wow…"

"Save your wow until I read you this. Zuko, Katara, and Toph? Nearing fifty-thousand each. And Aang, and I'm guessing this is because he is the Avatar…he has no read. Our charts are detailed to twenty-thousand, and then jump by variables to one-hundred thousand. His reaches past that."

Anakin and Ahsoka stared at Obi-Wan with wide eyes. Anakin ripped the machine out of Obi-Wan's hand to see the numbers for himself as Ahsoka let out a low whistle.

"What…what if we are measuring spirit power, and not midichlorians?" Ahsoka asked quietly.

"This proves we are measuring something more," Obi-Wan agreed.

After Anakin was satisfied Obi-Wan had read everything right, he looked up. "They need to come to the Temple," he added lowly. "The things we've recorded…and these results…they have to come back and be introduced to the Temple."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. He was about to say more when some activity caught his eye. Aang was out of the Spirit World. The three Jedi stopped their conversation and watched as he spoke quietly to his friends. They seemed alarmed at something, and it was a good long while before he acknowledged the Jedi's presence.

"What information do you have?" he asked.

"Well…" Obi-Wan thought for a moment. "What information do you have?"

Aang smirked. "I know who you are, and where your 'Force' came from."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Very well. I know your spirit strength."

Aang continued. "I also know you want to bring us back to your planet. I agree to go, as does Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and Toph. We feel this will give your Temple a good idea of our planet. But that has to be it...just your Temple."

Obi-Wan was startled that Aang knew about their decision to bring them back to Courascant before they announced it, but after the past day on the planet he knew that it was best not to ask how.

"Ok. How about we exchange information on our way to Courascant then?"

"Slow down, Space Man," Toph jumped in. "You need to realize, you are taking with you The Avatar, the Fire Lord, the Prince and Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, and the daughter of the second most powerful Earth Kingdom family. We can't just pick up and leave."

"We will need two days to prepare for departure," Aang said. "We will fly back to the Fire Nation capital on Appa, get every thing in order, and then you will pick us up on the outskirts. We can't let people see you."

"If they can't see us, then where are you telling them you're going?" Ahsoka asked.

The kids looked at each other.


End file.
